UrbanUpdate

Professional athletes don't get to the top by accident. It takes superhuman levels of time, dedication, and focus—and that includes paying attention to what they put in their bellies. In this series, GQ takes a look at what pro athletes in different sports eat on a daily basis to perform at their best. Here's a look at the erratic diet of tennis hotshot Stan Wawrinka.

Stan Wawrinka was recently eliminated from the Rogers Cup in a heated match (and heated fallout) with tennis' resident bad guy Nick Kyrgios. But earlier this year in the French Open he defeated Novak Djokovic, the current number one-ranked player in the world.

At the time, Djokovic was on a ludicrous 28-game winning streak that knocked out nine-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal. But somehow, some way, the then-eighth-seeded Wawrinka wound up going toe-to-toe with the Serbinator for a grueling three hours and 12 minutes before claiming victory. It was Wawrinka’s first time winning the Coupe des Mousquetaires (he also won the Australian Open in 2014), and he got as much attention for the plaid shorts he won in as for the match itself.

The match time is telling. The thing most casual fans don’t realize is just how chaotic a tennis player’s schedule is. Soccer players, runners, wrestlers, and other athletes usually know their schedules well in advance of any events or competitions. Even if they don’t know the exact dates, they know what time of day their matches usually start and how long their games last. Tennis players don’t have any of those luxuries.

“Sometimes we have a match at 11 in the morning, sometimes at 9 p.m.,” says Stan Wawrinka. “We need to always be adapting, we don’t have a match at the same time every week so it’s important to be open with everything.”

Other athletes usually know their schedules well in advance of any events or competitions. Tennis players don’t have any of those luxuries.

That also makes meal planning pretty erratic. Since Wawrinka’s schedule is constantly being upset by travel, jet lag, and matches that can last God-knows-how-long, his diet has to be adaptable. The challenge is making sure he’s still eating healthy even when he doesn’t know when his next meal will happen or where it’s coming from.

He aims for a little consistency—a light breakfast before training, usually with whatever fruit is available (“It depends where we are and what country we’re in”). The rest of the day will be something starchy like pasta for lunch, and a vegetable and protein-heavy dinner, maybe fish or, very occasionally, filet mignon.

The one thing that never changes? For Wawrinka, every meal is accompanied with Evian bottled water.

BreakfastWatermelonTwo pieces of toastTwo eggs, scrambledCoffeeEvian

LunchGreen saladPasta with shrimpEvian

DinnerGreen saladGreen beansRoasted sea bassEvian

Luke Darby is a contributor to GQ, covering news, entertainment, and the environment. A Louisiana native, he now resides in Cleveland, and his writing has also appeared in Outside, the Dallas Observer, and Marie Claire.Related Stories for GQReal Life DietTennisHealthTennisHealth